First Day Teaching

I just returned from my first day volunteering and it was fantastic! I have a class of 12 children- 3 of them are 3 years old, one is 5 years old, and the remainder are 4 years old. They are so enthusiastic, smart, and absolutely adorable.

I really had no idea what to expect today, but that made for an easier time getting acquainted with my job, expectations, and role. Luckily I have a Thai teacher named Jin Tahna to help translate and keep the kids in order. I started the morning off doing a name game with everyone. We all got in a circle and went around saying “Dee chun chur” which means “my name is.” We then practiced in English. We then used a ball to roll around the circle to go from person to person sharing your name. I am going to do my best to learn everyone’s name, but I have a hard time just like they do! They are learning Thai and are also expected to learn English. We’re all learning together.

After the name game we all sang the alphabet as a group as I pointed out the letters on a wall. We sang it really LOUD and then really soft. The kids finally started to jump out of their shells. They all then got a bubble letter to color (a worksheet I made the night before) and I sat down with them to do the activity. I got “M” and drew lots of little dots in different colors. The little girl next to me loved what I was doing so much she copied me on “N.” It was so much fun!

After a lot of alphabet teaching we played duck duck goose and all the kids kept “goosing” me so I took myself out of the game to let them play. After just two and a half hours of playing and teaching it was time for lunch.

All the kids went for lunch at their own table, all the teachers, two other volunteers, Rupal and David, and I sat down to eat. This was great because the teachers don’t speak much English so we continue to learn from each other. I had some fruit called lang sad which was similar to lychee and delicious. I also tried a black bean cake that had egg yolk in it- very good. Rupal and David already have a relationship with them which is fun to see (all the women teachers love David because he’ll eat anything). They’ve both been in Trang for a month already volunteering. I’m looking forward to getting to know them and work with them more. Just from the few days I’ve been here I can tell they are both wonderful people.